Stages...no people?

[LigerRaid]

I'm new to Melty Blood so can anyone explain why the stages are so empty with no life?

[Heavymetalmixer]

Stages in every Melty Blood game have always been like that, mostly because since the beginning (2002) MB was a spin-off of a VN, where usually it's just two characters talking to each other.

[Rook]

Most of the stages take place on private property (like the Tohno mansion) or in the middle of the night where no people would be around. Kind of a thing for Type Moon games, which usually feature secret societies and supernatural phenomena like vampires, mages, Servants, etc. Normal people aren't supposed to know that these things exist (if I remember correctly, mages are supposed to kill witnesses in Fate/stay night), so the fighting usually happens where there is nobody around, like some alleyway or a park in the middle of the night.

Another fighting game developed by French Bread, Under Night In-Birth, also runs on that logic.

[Warxa]

These characters hide themselves from society. Ciel is willing to kill any innocent person that might see her while she's fighting, so it would be a problem if people showed up in the background.

[Zvy]

Everyone disappearing is a plot point in old MB.

[Cyker]

more like a design direction I guess, a few other games also doesn't have characters on the background, like Nitroplus, Arcana Heart, MAAB (except for 1 or 2 stages if I remember right) maybe it's simply to avoid too much distraction. Old Melty Blood games also didn't had characters on the background, except for a few stages with Neco Arc and Neco Arc Chaos.

[HenshinRX]

The characters in Melty Blood hide their fights from the world so their existence doesn't become public knowledge. Through a misunderstanding, the mages of the Type-Moon world believe that magic holds more power the more unknown it is, when in reality it's the opposite. The existence of vampires and mages is also kept secret to avoid public panic, which is why there's no bystanders on the stages.

[Basil]

Melty (and more similar nasu works) is kind of the poster child for the "people fighting in empty streets at night" genre.